Ochre-marked Parakeet

The Ochre-marked Parakeet Pyrrhura cruentata also known as Blue-chested Parakeet, Blue-throated Parakeet or Blue-throated Conure is a medium-sized, up to 30 cm long, green parakeet with a dark brown crown, red ear-coverts, green cheek and orange yellow on sides of neck. It has a blue upper chest, yellow green uppertail, red underside tail feathers, greyish bill, blue outer wing feathers, and red shoulder and belly patch. Both sexes are similar. The young is duller than adult.

One of the largest among Pyrrhura parakeets, the Ochre-marked Parakeet is endemic to lowland humid forests of coastal areas of southeastern Brazil. The diet consists mainly of tree-fruits, seeds, flowers and berries. It nests in a tree cavity. The female usually lays between two to four eggs.

Due to ongoing habitat loss, limited range, small population size and illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade, the Ochre-marked Parakeet is evaluated as Vulnerable on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I and II of CITES.